This report is the first report of the ‘Energy Savings 2030’-project which seeks to help the Coalition for Energy Savings to produce a robust and timely input to the 2030 policy discussion. It brings together and summarises recent empirical evidence on costs and benefits of energy efficiency measures. The evidence gap in terms of reliable ex-post data is well known. In the majority of cases results from ex-ante modelling studies inform the debate. The research carried out for this report confirms the persistent gap in publicly available ex-post evaluations of energy efficiency programmes.

Global warming and environment problems caused by the excessive emission of greenhouse gases (GHGs), along with rapid economic development has attracted the attention of many countries and regions of the world. Reducing GHG emissions is essential to mitigate the threat of global warming. Household carbon (dioxide) emissions have been recognized as one of the most important contributors to climate change, with a significant impact on both the local and global environment, and various policy instruments have been implemented by governments to bring about the reduction.

Nearly zero energy buildings (NZEBs) constitute one of the main pillars of the energy policy of European Union (EU). Greece has recently established a clear definition for NZEB, however the interdependence between cost-optimality and the energy performance of NZEB has not been adequately studied. The present work includes a cost effectiveness analysis among different energy efficiency interventions for the existing residential Greek building stock.

Sustainable development in the building sector requires the integration of energy efficiency and renewable energy utilization in buildings. In recent years, the concept of net zero energy buildings (NZEBs) has become a potential plausible solution to improve efficiency and reduce energy consumption in buildings. To achieve an NZEB goal, building systems and design strategies must be integrated and optimized based on local climatic conditions. This paper provides a comprehensive review of NZEBs and their current development in hot and humid regions.

We report on an original systematic review of 165 empirical, ex post studies examining policies that promote the development and use of low-carbon technologies. Policy is defined broadly to include diverse instruments (e.g., eco-labels, voluntary agreements, emission credits, and taxes), developed, administered, and promoted by state and non-state actors (e.g., cities, states, corporations, business associations, and non-governmental organizations) that are relevant to climate change.

This paper contrasts two perspectives on energy efficient home renovations from applied behavioural research on energy efficiency and from sociological research on homes and domestic life. Applied behavioural research characterises drivers and barriers to cost-effective renovations, and identifies personal and contextual influences on homeowners’ renovation decisions. Research findings inform policies to promote energy efficiency by removing barriers or strengthening decision influences.